Have you ever noticed that you are great at giving thanks, but when someone expresses gratitude towards you, you feel awkward, fresh enough, or just can't fully take it in? If so, this episode is for you. We'll explore why receiving gratitude is one of the most powerful yet often looked practices for connection, joy, and even spiritual threat. I'll guide you through why it matters, what blocks it, and simple ways to start truly letting appreciation land so you can feel deep, valued, and fully alive in your relationships and in your own life. Welcome to Roots of the Rise with me, Sarah Hope, where spiritual wisdom needs practical tools in short episodes. Each one is a taster, not a deep dive, meant to spark curiosity and guide you toward authentic alignment. It's November, which means everyone starts talking about giving thanks. There's a part of me that wanted to resist that, to go against the grain and talk about gratitude some other time. But you know what? It's already front of mine, so let's just lean in. So every Monday this month, I'll be exploring different ways to cultivate gratitude in your life and the nuances that make a gratitude practice actually work. How to move it from something you think about once in a while to something that becomes embedded or integrated, a part of who you are. And here's the thing: most of us aren't really craving more things to be grateful for. What we're actually craving is a greater capacity to feel the things we already have. The love, the support, the moments of connection we often overlook. That's why developing gratitude isn't just a nice habit. It's a practice in opening yourself up to your own life in a fuller, more alive way. Now, look, I know that many of us want more things to be grateful for, and there's something very human in that. We all want more peace, more joy, more gratitude, more love in our lives. So I'm not saying that that doesn't exist. What I am pointing out is that many of us already have that. We just don't see it. I already went into the foundations of gratitude and why it's worth developing in episode 78. If you haven't listened to that one yet, you might want to go back and check it out first. I'll link it in the show notes. But if you don't want to take the time, let me just take a quick moment to recap why gratitude itself is such an important skill to practice. And it is a skill. Gratitude isn't about pretending everything's fine or forcing yourself to be positive. That's just spiritual bypass. It's really about training your awareness to notice the good that's already present in your life, the things that are quietly supporting you. When we do that consistently, we start to shift the way our minds work. Instead of constantly scanning for what's missing or might go wrong, we begin to see what's working, what's actually good, what's holding us, the people who are supporting us. And that changes everything. It expands our capacity for presence, for joy, and for actually wanting to feel our lives as they unfold. It makes us want to be here instead of numb or tap out. It's the key to abundance because where our attention goes, energy flows. It's an annoying cliche, but also true. If you're always focusing on the negative, you will see and experience more of the negative. But when you shift your focus to what you're grateful for, even in small ways, the flow changes. You start to experience more of what you want and less of what you don't. To get deeper into that, just listen to episode 78. But if you're ready to keep going, let's talk about one of the most powerful ways to cultivate gratitude, receiving it. When we talk about receiving gratitude, we're really talking about perceiving it, about letting ourselves truly take it in. I mean, most of us are pretty good or at least decent at giving thanks. But here's what I want you to ask yourself. What did you do the last time someone said thank you to you? Did you actually receive it or did you downplay it? Say, oh, no big deal, or anyone would have done the same. Most of us do that. We feel a little awkward when someone thanks us in a genuine way. So we deflect. But the research shows that when we receive gratitude, when we pause, breathe, and actually allow ourselves to feel someone's appreciation for us, our brain and body light up in powerful healing ways. It tells the nervous system you're safe, you matter, you belong. The same circuits that activate when we give gratitude fire up, but this time with an added layer of connection and worthiness. So this isn't just about being polite, about being better about receiving thanks. It's a practice in letting love land. Gratitude is sometimes called the social glue because it's what helps us know we're part of something larger. It's how we affirm connection and belonging. I mean, it even triggers the biological systems linked to trust and bonding, like oxytocin, amplifying the positive ripple effects between people. You've probably felt this before. I mean, depending on whether or not you've trained yourself to receive love or you tend to push it away to various degrees. But just think about the last time someone sent you a note or a message expressing that they appreciated something you did. What happened? Did you get a little mood boost, a reflexive smile, maybe a softening in your chest or a sense of warmth toward that person? Or maybe you receive gratitude more easily through gifts. Think about the last time someone surprised you with something small simply because they love you. They were just expressing their appreciation for having you in their life. This actually just happened to me. I was visiting a friend I haven't seen in a long time, and we were enjoying such a wonderful visit, and we were out shopping, and she unexpectedly gifted me with this perfect little crystal that I now have sitting on my desk. And I know, because this has been one of my best friends for 30-something years, that it was her way of saying, thank you for making the effort to be here. Thank you for showing up. Thank you for taking the time to visit. And now, granted, it didn't feel like any effort on my part. I mean, I was so excited, excited to uh spend time with her and the kids. But now every time I look at this gift from her, I will think of her and feel that sweetness all over again. I will allow myself to feel the gratitude and her love that is kind of imbued in this little gift she gave me. And now, granted, that's because I'm a visual person. When I look at something tangible that someone gave me or that I bought while having an experience with them, it immediately brings up all those warm, gooey, lovey feelings, that same feeling of love. But I think many people can relate to having this sense of peace and of belonging and of connection that happens when they look at, you know, the letter somebody wrote them saying thank you for doing X, Y, and Z. Or when they look at a picture and they remember how grateful their friend was for planning that surprise party for them or whatnot. You know, gratitude, letters, visits, gestures, gifts, they do this for all of us. They all produce this lift in mood and a deepening sensation of closeness if we let them. And that really can't be overstated. In an age where so many people feel lonely and disconnected, gratitude is one of the most powerful bridges we have. So, what destroys that bridge? It's simple, really. It's lack of acknowledgement. It's what we do to block gratitude from landing within us. When we downplay someone's appreciation, when we say, oh, it was nothing, or if we feel like we don't deserve it, we break the flow of connection. When we're distracted or mentally busy or caught up in our own self-criticism, we can't actually perceive the gratitude being offered. That's what closes the bridge. You know, gratitude is meant to be a two-way street. It's given and it's received. When we fail to receive it, the gift kind of bounces off and the nervous system doesn't register safety, belonging, or connection. And in a world where so many of us feel lonely or unseen, that missed connection is a real problem. It's exactly what keeps the bridge from forming. The same way that uh William Arthur Ward says, feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it. Not allowing yourself to deeply receive the gratitude is like having someone hand you a gift and you say, hmm, yeah, I don't really want that. No thanks. I'm gonna turn that present down. And, you know, the effect of this on a spiritual level is really what I'm talking about. And we can't ignore it. When you shut down receiving gratitude, it's like you're telling the universe, no, I don't, I don't want that. I don't want to be seen, I don't want to be appreciated. You're rejecting the acknowledgement that others and life itself is offering you. You see someone trying to honor or recognize you and you push it away, and then you wonder why you feel unseen, unappreciated, and alone. I mean, spiritually, receiving gratitude is about so much more than just social connection. It's about alignment. It's a practice of opening to the flow of life and saying, I'm here, I'm seen, I'm worthy of love and acknowledgement. I'm worthy of all the wonderful things life has to offer me. When you allow gratitude to land, you're letting that energy of appreciation move through you, affirming your place in the world and deepening your sense of interconnectedness. Blocking it, even unconsciously, creates resistance to that flow. And that's where so much of our spiritual stagnation or loneliness comes from. So, how do we fix it? How do we start actually receiving gratitude, both for our own well-being and for this deeper sense of connectedness with others, which is a gift you give back to them, right? This is reciprocal, which also feeds into this sense of belonging and having a place in this world, in this life. Here are three ways you can practice this week. The first one, this is what I call a moment of more, taking time to pause, notice, and deepen into the moment. And this is kind of deceptively simple, right? Just pause and notice the next time someone expresses appreciation, whether in words, a note, a small gift, allow yourself to fully take it in. Just pause for a moment instead of reflexively responding, potentially downplaying. Just breathe. Let yourself feel it in your body. Resist that urge to explain it away or flexively say, oh, it was nothing. Just receive it. You can even silently say to yourself, thank you. I accept this. I allow this. I am worthy of this gratitude. That small act, it opens the heart. It strengthens that bridge of connection and it reinforces your sense of being seen, valued, and alive. You know, this is a moment of more, like I talk about in episode 94. Let it in and allow yourself to deeply feel it. The second suggestion I have is reflective journaling. At the end of the day, write down a moment when someone expressed appreciation toward you. Don't just reflect on the act itself, but on how it felt in your body, your heart, your mind. I mean, this is where you can notice any resistance or deflection you experienced and gently remind yourself, I am worthy of receiving this gratitude. So it doesn't even matter if in the moment you didn't do step one, you didn't allow yourself to receive it. Later on, you can sit back with the experience and allow yourself to briefly receive it kind of retroactively. Because you remember, your brain doesn't know the difference between something happening in real time or you just re-experiencing it. So you can actually go back and kind of re-experience the moment and train yourself in that time how you want to receive it. Because over time, it will build your capacity to perceive and accept the appreciation without shrinking away. Number three, the last one that I'd like to recommend is uh the gratitude mirror. So you stand in front of a mirror and you imagine someone is expressing gratitude to you. Look yourself in the eyes and silently receive it. Yes, this can feel super awkward at first, but it's a powerful way to practice accepting recognition and love. Your brain will begin to start associate being seen with safety and belonging, which will strengthen both your self-worth and that ability to connect deeply with others. So as we wrap up, remember this gratitude isn't just about noticing what's good in your life, although that's important, and we'll talk about that uh in some later episodes. But it's really about receiving what's good in your life. When you allow appreciation to land fully in your body, again, whether through words, gestures, like a strong, like deep hug or small acts of kindness, you strengthen your connections, open your heart, and align yourself with the flow of life. Start small. Just pause, breathe, reflect, even try the mirror exercise. And just notice how it changes the way you feel, both socially and spiritually. I mean, the more you practice receiving, the more your capacity to give, to love, and to be fully present expands. Gratitude is a bridge, and it is waiting for you to cross it fully, openly, and without hesitation. Thank you so much for listening today. If you'd like to stay connected, make sure you either like or subscribe to the show. And you can always visit risingwithsarah.com to sign up for my newsletter and be the first to know about new retreats and offerings to help you live with more joy and authenticity. And remember, know who you are, love who you've been, and be willing to do the work that we completely are meant to be. Just a quick reminder this podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only. I am not a licensed therapist, and nothing shared here is meant to replace the guidance of a physician, therapist, or any other qualified provider. That said, I hope it inspires you to grow, heal, and seek the support you need to thrive.